Our wooden containers are 100 % handmade. Hand hewn out of solid pieces of mango wood by cottage industry artisans.
Mango wood is an eco friendly fast growing wood that polishes to a beautiful grain. Indigenous to south Asia, it is raised in orchards as a crop.

The wooden containers used in the candle trays and bowls are imported directly from a small town in northern India renowned for its wooden hand
carved products. On a clear day here one can see the mighty Himalayas rising in the distance in a purple haze. We work closely with small scale suppliers in this town and
import our products with out middle agents.

Although the seasoning and cutting of the wood is done in a central location, many of these pieces are made in the artisan's home as they are chiseled
out by hand without the aid of power tools or mechanized equipment. This cottage industry workmanship is central to the economy of this small wood working town.

The process...

Once the shipment reaches our warehouse in Georgia, the wooden containers are refinished with tung oil to condition the wood and
to preserve its hand rubbed luster. Our candles are all hand poured, hand wicked and packaged to order at our candle studio. This ensures you receive a fresh
aromatic candle in pristine condition. Himalayan candles are of a very high quality. They will burn evenly with minimal smoking and sooting, giving a fine fragrance throw.
Multiple wicks will ensure that most of the wax is used and makes reusing the container for other purposes or for refilling a breeze.

We use a wax blend developed to burn lastingly and evenly in the wooden containers. It is made primarily of soy wax, with a little paraffin added to improve
the appearance and elasticity of the wax. Beeswax is also added to increase the wax hardness and the burn time. We use cotton wicks that are tested for their superior burn
qualities.

All candle trays and bowls have metal liners at the base where the wicks are attached. This prevents the flame from ever coming into contact with the wood. Our candles have been product tested for safety.

The benefits of soy bean wax...

Himalayan Trading Post uses soy wax made from American grown soy beans. Soy wax tends to burn cleaner and for a longer time than traditional paraffin wax.
Paraffin wax is petroleum based where as soy wax is a natural more eco friendly choice. By buying a soy wax candle you are supporting the American farmer and his soy bean crop..so yes you
can feel good about that! Soy wax is also bio degradable, and cleans up with soap and water. That makes reusing your containers much easier. One of the biggest plusses for us in steamy
Georgia is that soy wax doesn't melt in the heat. A real advantage when shipping in 100 degree heat!

Burn tips - trim wicks short - to a ¼ inch. The first time you light the candle, burn for at least 3-4 hours. This will help the wick melt the wax to the widest diameter. Believe it or not, the candle will remember how far to burn to the next time. Always trim your wicks before lighting, this eliminates any smoke and prevents the flame getting too high.